


Sonogram Stories

by andachippedcup



Series: Domestic Belle [19]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-04
Updated: 2013-02-04
Packaged: 2017-11-28 06:06:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/671137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andachippedcup/pseuds/andachippedcup





	Sonogram Stories

Visits to the obstetrician had proven somewhat discomfiting for Mister Gold.

He had found Doctor Whale immensely easier to tolerate given that Belle was now pregnant and so thoroughly off the market not even Whale would look twice at her. Also a glass of whiskey had helped put him in a much calmer state of mind pre-appointments, he’d found.

Still, the idea that they might learn something was wrong with the baby any time they walked into the hospital had him rather on edge. He knew Belle’s excitement (and bravery) outweighed her fear. However, even in the few visits they’d had thus far, there had been stolen moments, moments where Belle had thought him distracted, when her veil of bravery had come down if only for a moment and he’d been able to see the raw fear and vulnerability  beneath.

Each time he’d witnessed such moments he’d pretended as if he’d seen nothing but he’d always managed to press a kiss to her cheek or clasp her hand a little more tightly thereafter. A coward he might be, but he was even better at the role of the devoted, doting husband.

At twelve and a half weeks along, they’d been scheduled for another appointment and so he’d helped his little wife into the car, her smile contagious as they drove to the hospital. Today was no ordinary checkup day, they both well knew.

Today was ultrasound day.

Belle had pored over the books she’d borrowed from the library to learn about the ultrasound and the associated appointment. She’d committed to memory a host of facts about the twelfth week of pregnancy and though she’d spent the majority of last night up feeling nauseous (morning sickness, they’d found, was not limited to the morning), she was still chipper and ready to go this morning, spouting facts all the way to the hospital.

Even as she sat on the little examination table, her legs swinging merrily, Belle was reciting information from her books to him as they waited for Doctor Whale to come and do the ultrasound.

“Depending on how quickly the baby’s developing, it may have developed more refined reflexes, like sucking.” Belle informed him brightly, all the while staring at her stomach. He watched her with a happy smile, so thoroughly content it almost hurt.

“I’m certain any child with you for a mother is prone to being advanced, like as not.” He smiled and Belle beamed at him, blushing.

“The baby should weigh in the neighborhood of one ounce now. And the books say I should try not to eat late night snacks.” She remarked with a little sideways frown. At that, he had to duck his head to hide his own smile, well aware that late night snacks had become something of a habit for his little Belle as of late. Perhaps the most amusing of which had been when he’d woken up at the sound of someone at the front door to discover his wife trying to sneak out and go to the store to purchase cookies to sate her cravings. Needless to say, he’d sent her back to bed and gone to get them himself.

What he hadn’t counted on was Belle’s request for Girl Scout cookies, which had thus necessitated waking up the Hatter and his brood for the purpose of procuring a few boxes from little Grace. Emma hadn’t been pleased to be awoken at such an hour but when she and Jefferson had learned that Belle was the cause, they’d been much friendlier about accepting his money, even if it was two thirty in the morning.

“Yes, well if you’re craving something I think a late night snack every once in a while is still alright.” He remarked, earning a nod of agreement from his wife as she splayed her hands across her stomach and surveyed the growing baby bump proudly.

It was at roughly that time that Doctor Whale entered, taking in the scene with a quick scan and carefully keeping to the side of the room opposite of Mister Gold. The man was still keenly aware that the pawnbroker was highly overprotective; it was one of the few traits Gold appreciated about him, actually.

“Hello again Mister and Mrs. Gold.” He greeted them crisply as he set a file (presumably Belle’s patient file) to the side and directed his attention to her. “How are you feeling today?”

“Alright. Nervous…and excited.” Belle admitted shyly as she bit her lip. Gold, however, piped up straight away.

“She was also still very nauseous and spent all last night vomiting.” He remarked from across the room, watching as Belle blushed and Whale nodded, grabbing up the chart and jotting something down.

“That’s not unusual, some women feel morning sickness all throughout their pregnancy.” Whale informed them and Belle grimaced.

“Hopefully I’m not one of them.” She wished aloud and both men smiled in return.

“Any heartburn?” Doctor Whale asked and Belle paused to consider for a moment before she answered him.

“A little but nothing terribly dreadful just yet.” Belle acknowledged. “I’ve been staying away from all the foods you mentioned last time – no citrus, nothing spicy.” She announced and Gold felt his heart swell proudly. Belle would have eaten a cactus, spines and all, if the doctors had said it would be good for their baby. She was already endlessly devoted to their child and it made his heart fit to burst.

\-----

The appointment proceeded uneventfully as Whale ran through a checklist of things he wanted to ask them about and such. In short order though, they had reached the main event of the appointment – the ultrasound.

“Alright this is going to feel a bit cold.” Whale warned as he applied a gel to Belle’s stomach. Gold had moved forward and was holding his wife’s hand as she reclined on the table, her eyes glued to the monitor as Whale brought it to life and began to move the wand over her stomach.

Gold’s eyes were so transfixed that he failed to notice his wife’s movement until Belle spoke, stealing away his attention.

“Doctor Whale wait!” Belle exclaimed, her voice high pitched and straining with concern. The doctor froze instantly, a flicker of fear passing over his features as he looked to Gold uneasily. Before either of the men could say a word though, Belle was rambling on. “I don’t want to know the gender. I don’t want to know anything at all except is the baby healthy. That’s all I need to know.” Belle remarked, her hand around the doctor’s wrist like a vice. Whale relaxed as he processed Belle’s request and then nodded.

“What about you Mister Gold? Do you want to know or-”

“Healthy or no will suffice; we’ve got to be on the same page, us two. We’re this it together.” He remarked, casting a smile at his wife, who relaxed beneath her husband’s reassuring stare.

“Together.” Belle repeated warmly, arching her neck up to press a tender kiss to her husband’s cheek before she motioned shyly to Doctor Whale to continue. “We’re ready now.” She grinned, laying her head back on the little paper covered pillow with a contented sigh.

Whale was quiet for some time as he scanned her stomach and Gold could see Belle growing pale the longer the doctor scanned her stomach, her features growing taut with worry. At long last though, Whale brought the wand to a stop and surveyed the image with an approving nod as he stepped aside to let the couple see the screen better.

“Mister and Mrs. Gold… let me be the first to introduce you to your baby.” Doctor Whale smiled and swept his hand over the image, drawing their attention to a small shape that shifted even as they watched. A smile spread across Belle’s face and her eyes glossed over with unshed tears as she leaned in close, her fingers stretching out toward the screen and hovering just before it in awe.

Her hand grasped his all the more tightly and he smiled before he pressed a kiss to the top of his wife’s head, still staring at the spot that Doctor Whale had motioned to.

“That’s our baby.” Belle whispered, her voice a tremulous sea of emotion, torn between bursting into tears and dissolving into laughter. She ripped her eyes from the screen long enough to look at her husband, her face nearly split in half from smiling so much. “It’s ours.” She whispered and in that moment she was so thoroughly maternal that it weakened his knees.

His wife’s maternal instincts, however, were not enough to compensate for what was so thoroughly lacking for Rumplestiltskin.

“I don’t see it.” He remarked simply, prompting Belle to stare at him incredulously.

“What do you mean you don’t see it?”

“It doesn’t look like a baby!” He defended, gesturing to the screen. “All I see is a lot of static and a blob.”

“Our baby is not a…a _blob_.” Belle responded adamantly and he shrugged sheepishly.

“A jelly bean then, is that better? It looks like a lumpy jelly bean.” He argued, tracing the image on the screen with his finger. “Look, you see? Jelly bean.” He remarked insistently and Belle only responded by draping her free hand across her face and laughing silently.

“A jelly bean?”

“Yes. A jelly bean.” He repeated with a proud little nod and Belle bit back a smile and a laugh as she turned to Doctor Whale, who had stood off to the side while the pair bickered quietly. He extended a pair of pictures to the couple and Belle accepted them happily, sighing contentedly as she stared at their child.

“Doctor Whale is it…is it healthy?” She asked him timidly and the Doctor smiled and patted her knee gently.

“I’d like to listen to the heartbeat before I say with any certainty but as of yet, everything looks good.” He responded and Belle dipped her head and nodded compliantly as Whale resumed the sonogram. A dreadful silence followed and just as Belle’s joy had begun to flag, rapid fluttering reached their ears, sounding entirely too fast but in that moment it was the most beautiful sound Belle had ever heard.

“Is that-?” She asked, too afraid to finish her sentence. Whale smiled and nodded at her.

“That, Mrs. Gold, is the sound of a very strong, very healthy fetal heartbeat.” He announced happily, surprised by the loud sigh of relief that Mister Gold produced as he hung his head, tension draining out of him.

“Mister and Mrs. Gold, I can say with confidence that all looks well.” He grinned. “Good size, no abnormalities that I can see, a good amount of amniotic fluid. I’d say you’re the textbook example of a healthy pregnancy thus far.”

Belle bit her lip and nodded, a few silent tears spilling down her cheeks as relief flooded through her. She lifted her hand to reach for her husband but he was already pulling her to him and cradling her in his arms. She nuzzled his neck while he murmured words of relief in her ear, using his free hand to brush back her hair. Whale watched, feeling like an interloper in such a private, intimate moment as the two clasped each other close, as if they were the only things left in the world. The kiss that followed was tender and deep as Gold cupped his wife’s face in his hand as he administered a kiss equal parts love and want.

When at last they broke away, Belle brushed away her tears and broke into a smile and a quiet laugh as she looked at their doctor.

“Sorry Doctor Whale.” She sniffed smilingly as Gold himself smirked smugly, pleased as always to have the opportunity to lavish physical affection on his wife in public. “It’s just…this is really wonderful news.” She breathed and Gold knew his wife was so thrilled to be relieved of an emotional burden neither of them had really admitted to bearing.

“Perfectly understandable, Mrs. Gold. But allow me to assure you that everything seems in order and now that you’re almost thirteen weeks along, your risk of miscarriage is minimal. Keep taking your prenatal vitamins and let’s set up your next appointment before you leave but honestly, I see no cause for concern.” He explained and the Golds nodded enthusiastically.

As they drove home, Belle sat in silence staring intently at the sonogram pictures with a smile fixed in place. Every time Gold looked over she was stroking the pictures tenderly, love in every action. Wordlessly, Gold took a hand off the steering wheel and grabbed his wife’s left hand to give it a tight squeeze, knitting their fingers together.

“I think it’s a good name.” Belle said suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence that had lapsed between them. He glanced over at her, his eyebrows raised.

“What’s that, love?” He questioned curiously.

“Well, we don’t know the baby’s gender. And just referring to it as ‘the baby’ seems so impersonal. So I think our nickname for it should be ‘little bean’…if you like it too, that is.” She offered timidly, watching as her husband’s lips curled up slowly.

“Our little bean.” He rolled the words around on his tongue, his heart warming and also breaking at the notion, memories of another bean, bright and blue and magical, filling his mind. He swallowed back his pain though, quickly glancing to his wife with a nod as he lifted her hand up to place a kiss on the back of her hand. “I love it. And I love you.” He remarked huskily and Belle smiled as she sat back against her chair, completely unaware of the torment her husband would endure at every mention of the nickname.

“I love you too, Rumple. And you, Little Bean.” She sighed, her free hand splayed across her stomach as her gaze drifted back to the sonogram pictures in her lap. She would attempt to commit to memory the grainy images while her husband tried to cling to the happiness the day had brought and not the small but powerful needle prick to his heart.

He stole another glance at his wife, who was most assuredly _glowing,_ and he drew a deep, quavering breath. For Belle’s happiness, Rumplestiltskin would withstand most any pain. She was worth it; both she and their baby, their ‘Little Bean’ both were.  


End file.
